Vince fixed corned beef and cabbage

(and cheesy potatoes and barbequed little smokies)

for New Year's . . . some tonight, leftovers tomorrow.

Playing with the camera

while waiting for the cookies to be done . . .

The cookies are Cake Mix Cookies (just 3 ingredients) . . .

These were made using a Fudge Chocolate cake mix

and Heath chips.

Cake Mix Cookies [from Rosalynn]

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine:
     1 box cake mix
     2 eggs
     ½ cup oil

Mix well until lumps are gone.
Drop by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake 8-10 minutes.
Variation: add nuts, raisins, chocolate or other chips.

Today . . .

scrapbooking November in 2009's photo journal . . .

and putting away a few more Christmas decorations . . .

Today was errand day:

Senior Center (closed), post office, bank, WalMart.

Meals for the week . . .

Taco Salad

Corn and Sausage Chowder

Mexican Pasta

Barbequed Little Smokies

Enchiladas

Veggie Fish Chowder from last Sunday . . .

Veggie Fish Chowder

     [from Better Homes and Gardens, May 2008, page 203]

Makes:  6 total servings

Mashed Potatoes:  Make garlic mashed potatoes
     from scratch   or   make ½ of a 7.2 ounce instant box
     using some of the soup broth after Step 4 of the soup.

Soup:

1 lb firm-texture white fish, cut in 4 pieces (thaw if frozen)

2 med carrots, sliced (or half a bag of baby carrots, sliced)

1 cup sugar snap peas, halved diagonally

1 T olive oil

1 can (~14 ounce) vegetable broth

2 ¼ cups water (or another can of broth and a cup of water)

salt

course ground black pepper

shredded parmesan cheese

1. Lightly season fish with pepper.

2. In 4-qt Dutch oven, cook fish, carrots, and peas
       in hot oil (medium-high) for 3 minutes.

3. Add broth and water; bring to a boil.

4. Immediately reduce heat. Cover; simmer for ~3 minutes
       until fish flakes easily with a fork.

5. Break the fish into bite-size pieces in the pan.

6. Put a scoop of mashed potatoes in a bowl
       Ladle the soup around the potatoes.

7. Season to taste with salt and pepper if needed.
       Serve with parmesan cheese.

31° and windy . . .

here's what's happening at my house . . .

time to get out the toys, start a fire, and have fun.

(Me? I'm inside with a cup of tea and a puzzle.)

The beginning of the snowfall,

standing on the porch and looking north . . .

(((  I'm on Facebook  )))

Christmas Day dinner . . .

Tortellini Minestrone Soup with Focaccia Bread

Tortellini Minestrone Soup

Put 64 ounces of vegetable or chicken broth on to boil.

While it’s heating,
     slice 10-15 baby carrots
     slice 2 trimmed celery stalks
     dice ½ medium onion
     quarter and slice 1 medium zucchini (remove seed core)

After the broth boils, add the vegetables.
After the veggies have been cooking for 5-6 minutes,
     add 1 small package (9 ounces) of cheese tortellini.

Boil for another 7 minutes; then change to medium-low heat.

Add: 1 can drained/rinsed pinto beans
       1 can drained/rinsed dark red kidney beans
       1 can undrained diced tomatoes
       1 can drained uncut green beans

Spice with: 1 teaspoon salt
                1 teaspoon basil
                ½ teaspoon coarse black pepper
                ¼ teaspoon minced garlic

Five minutes before serving,
     add a large handful of washed, uncut fresh spinach.

Serve topped with shredded parmesan cheese.
Pick a great bread to accompany the soup.

Nieces Phoebe, Christine, Sarah . . .

Vince and me, Victorian Christmas 2007

Another Ian-ism . . .
(while putting some new lotion on my hand)
"Gramma has cracks".

Me, Christmas 1955

[Dinner conversation with a toddler]

Grandpa:  Tell Gramma about going to the gravel pit
                 and seeing the big pile of sand.

Ian:  It was big.

Gramma:  Was it huge?

Ian:  No.

Gramma:  Was it gigantic?

Ian:  No.

Gramma:  Was it humongous?

Ian [using his hands]:  No.  It was BIG!

Sisters . . .

My oldest ornament,

from when I was 5 or 6 years old . . .

My mother-in-law, circa 1941 . . .

In front of The Book Nook . . .
a used bookstore on Main Street

At Olive Garden . . . waiting . . .

~ The great Santa give-away ~

the participants . . .

and some of the Santas that now have new homes . . .

For my Life Group . . .

Now all has been heard;

here is the conclusion of the matter:

Fear God and keep his commandments,

for this is the duty of every human being.

~ Ecclesiastes 12:13

Checking out the tree . . .

Practicing . . .

(Ben and Sarah)

Morning shadow . . .

Keep "Christ" in Christmas . . .

And, the results are . . .

(my bee in progress, my bee finished,
Anne's compass rose finished)

(this morning, the pink area has already disappeared)

Be cautious what you promise an 11 year old
with a very good memory . . .

Today, she is 18 and this evening, we get tattoos.

Happy birthday, kiddo.

How a toddler scrapbooks . . .

on his shirt, hands, legs and the bottom of his feet.

The tree was up with only the lights.

Low light; 1 second exposure; move the camera . . .

A halo above my beaded cross . . .

. . . created by reflections from                

                      Anne's snow globe display . . .

And before the day goes into fast-forward,

three of my blessings on Thanksgiving . . .

So . . . I'm gone from mid-morning until 9 pm yesterday and I already missed my goal for the month.  Ah, well.  Here's a post for Wednesday, December 2 (Happy birthday, Em) . . . a truck for sale [on a corner near where I live].  I had some fun with Photoshop (PSE 5.0).

Goal for myself:
for the month of December, I will post to my blog everyday.